He Should Have Asked First

The White House has been working hard to assure Latin Americans that the Panama invasion did not represent a new Bush Doctrine of aggressive North American action in the hemisphere. But the suspicion of neighboring nations has been raised anew by the weekend deployment of two U.S. Navy ships off the coast of Colombia. The protests of Colombia are understandable. The Bush Administration’s explanation is not.

Senior Administration officials confirmed at the outset that the ships’ mission is drug interdiction. Officially, however, the “cover” story is routine maneuvers. Neither explanation is helpful.

Even if this were a routine training exercise, it’s insensitive to deploy the fleet in such a sensitive area less than three weeks after American military action that has drawn almost universal public condemnation from Latin American governments.

For interdiction to be effective, there must be close cooperation with the nations involved. Increased surveillance of surface and air traffic by sophisticated plane-based radar operating from the USS John F. Kennedy will serve only a limited purpose unless it can be translated into interception, including military and law enforcement responses by other Latin nations.

“Before we undertake anything, we will of course consult with any of the countries (involved),” Brent Skowcroft, Bush’s national security adviser, said. Good idea. But he said it only Sunday, at least a week too late, after the diplomatic damage had been done.